It is easy to be confident and bold when the crowd is on your side.  It feels good to be a part of the majority.  That will never be our lot as Christians.

Matthew 7:14 (ESV)
¹⁴  For the gate is narrow and the way is hard that leads to life, and those who find it are few.

Even though there are only a few, comparatively speaking, who are on the Lord’s side, we must always be willing to stand up for Him and His cause, never being ashamed of who we are as Christians, nor of anything associated with our Lord.

Philippians 1:20 (NKJV)
²⁰  according to my earnest expectation and hope that in nothing I shall be ashamed, but with all boldness, as always, so now also Christ will be magnified in my body, whether by life or by death.

Consider with me these things of which we should not be ashamed.

• We should never be ashamed of the gospel (Romans 1:16).

The gospel is not only the wonderful story of Jesus and the sacrifice that He made on our behalf, but it is also the objective faith for which we must contend.  Jude appealed to brethren to contend for the faith which had been once delivered (Jude 1:3).  The faith he referred to is the gospel.  The word “contend” means to fight for something and that is what we must do for the gospel.

When false teachers pervert the gospel, we must fight for its integrity.  When the world mocks its moral standard, we must prove its value by our lives.  When people question the hope of the gospel, we must be ready to give an answer.  We will not do any of these things if we are in any way ashamed of the gospel.  It is God’s power unto salvation.  Let us be sure we never shrink back from preaching it when we have the opportunity.

• We should never be ashamed to suffer for Christ (1 Peter 4:16).

The world has always persecuted Christians in one way or the other.  That will never end because the world will always be filled with enemies of the cross of Christ.  If you find yourself being persecuted for your beliefs in Christ and the gospel, do not be ashamed, but rather, rejoice that you are worthy to suffer for the cause of Christ (Acts 5:41).  Peter tells us that instead of being embarrassed about suffering, we should glorify God in the name of Christ.

• We should never be ashamed of the boldness of other Christians (2 Timothy 1:8).

It seems many were ashamed of Paul for being a prisoner for the Lord so much so that he commended the household of Onesiphorus for not being ashamed of his chains.  We should never be ashamed of those who boldly stand for Christ.  Over the years, I have heard members express embarrassment when they bring family members to services and the preacher preaches something they do not like.  Instead of assuring the family members that the truth was taught, they castigate the preacher.  What a shame!

There are some things we should never be ashamed of as Christians.  Let’s remember the sobering words of our Lord.

Luke 9:26 (ESV)
²⁶  For whoever is ashamed of me and of my words, of him will the Son of Man be ashamed when he comes in his glory and the glory of the Father and of the holy angels.

As you wind down for the night, think about these things.